William Eleazar Barton Papers, 1885-1976

Collection Overview

Title: William Eleazar Barton Papers, 1885-1976

Predominant Dates:1895–1925

ID: RG 09/9.04

Creator: Barton, William Eleazar -- 1861-1930

Extent: 27.0 Boxes (General)

Arrangement: This collection is divided into eight series: Biographical, Writings, Advance, Lincoln, Correspondence, Photographs, Genealogical, and Helen Crocker. Arrangement within each series is largely chronological except where noted.

Languages: English [eng]

Abstract

William E. Barton attended Berea College from 1880 to 1885 (B.S.) and married Esther Treat Bushnell—a Berea elementary teacher—upon graduation from college. Barton was a circuit pastor in Robbins, Tennessee, until 1887. From 1887 through 1890 Barton was a pastor in Litchfield, Ohio, while taking courses at Oberlin Theological School. Upon graduation from Oberlin (M.A.), Barton pastored at Wellington, Ohio, and Boston’s Shawmut Congregational Church. From 1899 until 1924, Barton was the pastor at Chicago’s First Congregational Church in Oak Park.

From 1904-1917 Barton was the editor of The Advance, a Congregationalist magazine. Among many Congregationalist activities Barton was a delegate to the National Council from 1893 to1930, and moderator of that body from 1921 to 1923. For thirty years Barton was a Berea College trustee during which time he advised Berea College on the Day Law legal suit (1904-1908). Barton also spent much time researching the life of Abraham Lincoln’s and became a foremost authority in the field.

In 1925, Barton began a trip around the world, unfortunately cut short by his wife’s sudden illness and death later the same year. In 1928 Barton founded Collegeside Church where he served as pastor until his until his death in 1930 at the age of 69.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Administrative Information

Accruals: Although large portions of the material in this collection are primary sources collected from the Barton family, a significant portion in this collection are copies from other research and archival institutions. The originals of these copied materials remain at those various institutions. The bulk of this collection originated with Helen Crocker, a professor at Western Kentucky University. Her research (1980-1986) gathered material from the Barton family and archival institutions, and was intended for a biography of William E. Barton, though that book was never written. The material was then given to Marion Lucas, another professor at Western Kentucky University researching John G. Fee. In August of 2000, Marion Lucas gave the collection to Berea College. The small portion of the collection not inherited from Helen Crocker and Marion Lucas has been collected by Berea College librarians.

Access Restrictions: Records can be accessed through the Reading Room, Berea College Special Collections and Archives, Hutchins Library, Berea College.

Use Restrictions:

Series 4 contains four rolls of microfilm from the University of Chicago Library. The microfilm contains Barton’s Lincoln research correspondence (1920-1922), research notes (including affidavits and maps), and few Lincoln manuscripts and addresses. RESTRICTION: Microfilm or information from microfilm may not be reproduced without permission of the Director of the University of Chicago Library.

Federal copyright regulations apply to all other works within the collection. All works must be cited.

Related Materials: Berea College Records RG 9.03: Bruce Barton Collection

Preferred Citation: [Object identification], William Barton Papers, Berea College Special Collections & Archives, Berea, KY.

Processing Information:

The collection was open for research in 2001.

Arranged and described by Andrew D. Franklin, completed September 2001. Finding aid updated in 2016.

Box and Folder Listing

College Archive Record Group 9.04

Series 1: Biographical

Box 1

Folder 1: Biographical Articles [N.D.]
Folder 2: Biographical Articles 1883, 1893, 1896 - 1907, 1915
Folder 3: Biographical Articles 1918 - 1930
Folder 4: Biographical Articles 1930 - 1934; 1937
Folder 5: Biographical Articles 1947, 1949, 1955, 1958
Folder 6: Biographical Articles 1961, 1964, 1976
Folder 7: Autobiographical, W.E. Barton
Folder 8: Autobiographical Articles, Series in Christian Herald Oct 1931 - Mar 1932
Folder 9: Autobiographical Articles, notes from autobiography (published 1932)
Folder 10: Berea
Folder 11: Last Will and Testament (1929)
Folder 12: Collected Clippings by Barton

Series 2: Writings

Box 2

Folder 1: 1893 - 1899 Pastor’s Register /Scrapbook - Shawmut Congregational Church
Folder 2: 1886/87 - 1892 Pastor’s Register /Scrapbook - Church in Robbins, Tennessee
Folder 3: 1899 - 1906 Pastor’s Register/Scrapbook with list of sermons preached

Box 3

Folder 1: Pastor’s Register /Scrapbook, 1907 - 1912: with list of sermons preached
Folder 2: Pastor’s Register /Scrapbook, 1920 - 1924: with list of sermons preached
Folder 3: Scrapbook, 1896: Sermons published in The Treasury
Folder 4: Scrapbook, 1897 - 1903: Outlines and Press Reports of Occasional Addresses
Folder 5: 1899 - 1902 Scrapbook - Sermons and Articles from Youth
Folder 6: Scrapbook, 1905: The Land and the Book: A Series of Illustrated Talks on the Land and the Bible

Box 4

Folder 1: [N. D.] Scrapbook of Quotes and prose collected by Barton
Folder 2: 1913 - 1917 Scrapbook of poetry collected by Barton
Folder 3: 1900 - 1906 Scrapbook - Religious Editorials From Youth
Folder 4: 1908 - 1913 Scrapbook - Religious Editorials From Youth
Folder 5: 1911 - 1912 Scrapbook - Sermons Published
Folder 6: 1915 - 1916 Scrapbook - Sermons Published
Folder 7: 1917 - 1918 Scrapbook - Sermons Published

Box 5

Folder 1: 1893 - 1899 Scrapbook - Congregational Club
Folder 2: 1899 - 1924 Scrapbook A Book of Remembrance for Barton
Folder 3: 1916 - 1918 Scrapbook Safed the Sage
Folder 4: 1919 - 1920 Scrapbook Safed the Sage
Folder 5: 1922 - 1926 Scrapbook Safed the Sage

Box 6

Folder 1: Scrapbook of Travel Article on Robert Burns
Folder 2: Notebook - Natural Theology, 1887 - 1888: [class taught by Berea College President James Fairchild]
Folder 3: 1890 - Notebook - Church of Rome Opposed to Protestantism
Folder 4: 1896 - 1908 Church Account Book
Folder 5: 1894 - 1904 Church Account Book
Folder 6: 1909 - Scrapbook - list of books on art
Folder 7: 1922 - Scrapbook - Eugene Field Remembrance
Folder 8: 1922 - Scrapbook - History of the Filson Club 1884 - 1922
Folder 9: 1922 - Family Guest Book for July and August

Box 7

Item 1: Scrapbook, 1892 - 1895: Wellington, Ohio and Shawmut (Boston) Pastorates

Box 8

Folder 1: Photograph - Events [N.D.]
Folder 2: Photograph - Groups and Organizations [N.D.]
Folder 3: Printed Material - Haverhill Whittier Club Certificate 1900
Item 1: Diary - 1881 - 1882
Item 2: Diary - 1882- 1885 with transcript

Box 9: NO BOX 9

Box 10

Item 1: Diary - 1916
Item 2: Diary - 1917

Box 11

Item 1: Diary - 1918
Item 2: Diary - 1919

Box 12

Item 1: Diary - 1920
Item 2: Diary - 1921

Box 13

Item 1: Diary - 1923
Item 2: Diary - 1924
Item 3: Diary - 1925, 1926
Item 4: Diary - 1927

Box 14

Item 1: Diary - 1929
Item 2: Travel Diary - 1909
Item 3: Travel Diary - 1925
Item 4: Travel Diary - 1929

Box 15

Folder 1: Sermons, Articles, and Addresses [N.D.]
Folder 2: Sermons, Articles, and Addresses 1883
Folder 3: Sermons, Articles, and Addresses 1892
Folder 4: Sermons, Articles, and Addresses 1892 - 1894
Folder 5: Sermons, Articles, and Addresses 1895 - 1899
Folder 6: Sermons, Articles, and Addresses 1900 - 1902
Folder 7: Sermons, Articles, and Addresses 1903 - 1907
Folder 8: Sermons, Articles, and Addresses 1908 - 1910
Folder 9: Sermons, Articles, and Addresses 1911 - 1914
Folder 10: Sermons, Articles, and Addresses 1916 - 1920
Folder 11: Sermons, Articles, and Addresses 1921 - 1927
Folder 12: Parables of Safed the Sage - Manuscript and Notes
Folder 13: Parables of Safed the Sage Article Clippings and Published excerpts
Folder 14: Religious Music and Hymns
Folder 15: Congregational Creeds and Printed Material
Folder 16: Congregational Writings 1897 - 1910
Folder 17: Congregational Writings 1913 - 1917

Box 16

Folder 1: Barton Pamphlets [N.D.]

Item 1: How We Ought to Think of God
Item 2: Bodily Healing
Item 3: The Chronology of the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel
Item 4: Sermon: The Ladder and the House
Item 5: The Christ in Modern Art: An Illustrated Lecture
Item 6: The Penitents of New Mexico

Folder 2: Barton Pamphlets 1890 -1903

Item 1: Early Ecclesiastical History of the Western Reserve, 1890: Papers of the Ohio Church History Society Vol. I: Reports and Papers of the First Annual Meeting held at Ashtabula, Ohio, May 6th 1890. Frank Hugh Foster PH.D ed.
Item 2: 1892 - A History of the First Congregational Church of Wellington Ohio
Item 3: Annual Reports of the First Congregational Church of Wellington Ohio, 1892
Item 4: 1894 - Address of Rev William E. Barton: 43rd Anniversary of the Boston Young Men
Item 5: 1894 - Cosmic Redemption from Treasury
Item 6: 1895 - Flesh and Spirit
Item 7: 1897 - Congregationalism in Boston and Vicinity
Item 8: 1897 - Shawmut Bible Studies: Outline Analysis of the Book of Genesis
Item 9: What has Brought Us Out of Egypt? , 1900: A Sermon on the Relations of the Material and the Spiritual in Human Progress
Item 10: 1901 - Faith as Related to Health
Item 11: 1902 - The Continuous Creation
Item 12: 1902 - The Gospel of the Autumn Leaf
Item 13: 1903 - The Sumerian Pentateuch

Folder 3: Barton Pamphlets 1904 - 1927

Item 1: 1904 - Can a Man be Converted After he is Twenty-Three?
Item 2: 1904 - How Old Art Thou?
Item 3: 1905 - The Conquest of the risen Christ
Item 4: 1907 - The Brook By Road side
Item 5: 1907 - The End of the Road
Item 6: 1907 - The Minister and Women
Item 7: 1907 - The Perils of Progress
Item 8: Art and Life: The Mission of a Fine Art Society in a Suburban Community, 1909
Item 9: Acorns From an Oak Park Pulpit: The World to Come and the Divine Deposit, 1910: (two sermons)
Item 10: 1911 - All the Years of Thy Life
Item 11: 1913 - The Lost Christ
Item 12: 1914 - Before Winter
Item 13: 1914 - Righteousness and Immortality: An Easter Sermon
Item 14: 1917 - Our Fight for the Heritage of Humanity
Item 15: 1918 - The Constructive Problems of World Democracy
Item 16: 1918 - The Moral Meaning of the World War
Item 17: The Praise of the Wrath of Man and The Rebuilding of the World: Two Sermons, 1918
Item 18: 1920 - George Washington: An Address
Item 19: 1920 - Theodore Roosevelt: An Address (signed)
Item 20: 1923 - Congregationalism, Continental and Catholic
Item 21: Medina Association, 1927: The Enlargement from Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Session of the Medina Association of Congregational Churches and Ministers, pgs. 13-18.

Folder 4: Congregationalist Pamphlets

Item 1: 1924 - Dr. Barton’s Notable Pastorate by Rev. Robert W. Gannon D.D.
Item 2: 1924 - A Tribute to Keturah by Grace M. Chapin
Item 3: 1924 - The Close of a Distinguished Pastorate
Item 4: A Book of Remembrance, 1924: Commemorative of the Celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Pastorate of the Reverend William E. Barton, D.D., LL.d. in the First Congregationalist Church of Oak Park
Item 5: 1963 - Century of Promise: One Hundred Years of Christian Service, 1863 -1963 by Frank J. Platt

Folder 5: Pamphlets - Berea and Southern Mountains

Item 1: 1897 - The Cumberland Mountains and the Struggle for Freedom
Item 2: 1899 - Berea College and the Cumberland Mountains Education Vol. xix, No. 6, Feb. 1899 pgs. 331-341
Item 3: 1899 - Old Plantation Hymns Feb Berea Quarterly
Item 4: 1899 - Old Plantation Hymns with Historical and Descriptive Notes
Item 5: 1905 - Dr. Pearson’s Birthday Address by Barton
Item 6: 1910 - Address of Dr. Daniel Kimball Pearsons at Berea College
Item 7: Katherine Knapp and Esther Barton, 1926: A Sketch prepared for the Dedication of the Esther Barton Room in Knapp Hall, Berea College
Item 8: 1926 - Notes for Knapp and Barton Sketch

Folder 6: Related Pamphlets

Item 1: [N.D.] Finding God in Millersville: A Personal Experience [No Author]
Item 2: 1902 - The Cruise of the S.S. Celtic: A brief Account of Her Trip to the Mediterranean and the Orient by J. W. Pettit, M.D.
Item 3: 1923 - The Pathway of Peace: An Address by Honorable Charles E. Hughs, Secretary of State
Item 4: 1926 - Address of the President of the United States and the Director of the Bureau of the Budget at the 11th Regular Meeting of the Business Organizations of Government

Box 17

Folder 1: Sermon and Theological Notes [N.D.]
Folder 2: Sermon and Theological Notes 1891
Folder 3: Sermon and Theological Notes 1893 - 1906, 1910, 1913
Folder 4: Sermon and Theological Notes 1920 - 1930
Folder 5: Sermon and Theological Notes Pamphlet [N.D]
Folder 6: Sermon and Theological Notes Pamphlet 1901; 1908 - 1911
Folder 7: Sermon and Theological Notes Pamphlet 1912 - 1920
Folder 8: Miscellaneous Writings and Poetry
Folder 9: Printed Materials - Announcements and Bulletins
Folder 10: Printed Materials - Hymns, Poetry, and Prose
Folder 11: Printed Materials - Personal

Series 3: The Advance

Box 18

Folder 1: Articles [N.D.]; 1899-1908
Folder 2: Articles 1908 - 1911
Folder 3: Articles 1912 Apr - Dec
Folder 4: Articles 1913 Jan - Apr
Folder 5: Articles 1913 May - Aug
Folder 6: Articles 1913 Sept - Dec
Folder 7: Articles 1914 Jan - May
Folder 8: Articles 1914 June - Sept
Folder 9: Articles 1914 Oct - Dec
Folder 10: Articles 1915 Jan - Apr
Folder 11: Articles 1915 May - June
Folder 12: Articles 1915 July - Sept
Folder 13: Articles 1915 Oct - Dec

Box 19

Folder 1: Articles 1916 Jan - Feb
Folder 2: Articles 1916 Mar - May
Folder 3: Articles 1916 June - Sept
Folder 4: Articles 1916 Oct - Dec
Folder 5: Articles 1917 Jan - May
Folder 6: Articles 1917 June - Sept
Folder 7: Articles 1917 Oct - Nov
Folder 8: Articles 1918
Folder 9: Articles 1919
Folder 10: Articles 1920
Folder 11: Articles 1921 Jan - July
Folder 12: Articles Feb 9, 1922; Mar 30, 1922; Apr 13, 1922
Folder 13: Correspondence [N.D.], 1898 - 1919
Folder 14: Business Notes 1887 - 1917

Series 4: Lincoln

Box 20

Folder 1: Printed Materials

Folder 2: Writings

Folder 3: Scrapbook

Folder 4: Bibliography of Lincoln Authors

Folder 5: Writings on Lincoln by Robert Barton

A Bibliography by Fred Barton

Folder 6: Inventory of Barton

Folder 7: Microfilm (Or Information From Microfilm)

May Not Be Reproduced Without Permission Of The Director Of The University Of Chicago Library

Item 1: Barton’s Research: Affidavits, Correspondence, and Maps (on Microfilm)
Item 2: Address to Filson Club on Lincoln and His Women, manuscript of The Lincoln’s and Their Kentucky Home, also some correspondence on Barton’s Lincoln research on Microfilm
Item 3: Lincoln’s Belief in Evolution manuscript; Lincoln research and publishing correspondence Apr 1920 - Dec 1922 (on Microfilm)
Item 4: Lincoln research and publishing correspondence Dec 1922; on Microfilm

Series 5: Correspondence

Box 21

Folder 1: Personal Correspondence [N.D.] and partial letters
Folder 2: Personal Correspondence - 1885-1900
Folder 3: Personal Correspondence - 1901-1910
Folder 4: Personal Correspondence - 1911-1920
Folder 5: Personal Correspondence - 1921-1930, 1940
Folder 6: Congregational Correspondence - 1894-1907
Folder 7: Congregational Correspondence - 1913-1930
Folder 8: Publishing Correspondence - 1896, 1919-1929

Box 22

Folder 1: Trustee and College Correspondence [N.D.]
Folder 2: Trustee and College Correspondence 1886-1900
Folder 3: Trustee and College Correspondence 1901-1904
Folder 4: Trustee and College Correspondence 1905-1913
Folder 5: Trustee and College Correspondence 1920-1930

Series 6: Photographs

Box 22

Folder 6: Barton Portraits
Folder 7: Family
Folder 8: Religious Events and Groups
Folder 9: Lincoln
Folder 10: Travel
Folder 11: Related People and Places

Series 7: Genealogical

Box 23

Folder 1: Writings: Lieutenant William Barton

Folder 2: The Angel of the Battlefield: A Life of Clara Barton for American Youth

Manuscript

Folder 3: Notebook of Ancestral Record

Folder 4: Genealogical Notes

Folder 5: Genealogical Correspondence [N.D]

Folder 6: Genealogical Correspondence 1891 - 1893

Folder 7: Genealogical Correspondence 1894

Folder 8: Genealogical Correspondence 1895 - 1900; 1913 - 1931

Folder 9: The Barton Family of Oxford, Massachusetts Excerpts

Folder 10: Writings: Esther Barton

Item 1: Katherine Knapp and Esther Barton: A Sketch Prepared for the Dedication of the Esther Barton Room in Knapp Hall, Berea College 1926
Item 2: Esther Barton: A Biographical Sketch 1926

Folder 11: Jacob Barton

Folder 12: Family Writings

Folder 13: Ensign Eleazer Barton and his Descendants by Grace Barton McLaren and Ira L. McLaren

Note: added 6 September 2011, original removed from BEREA Book Collection for preservation purposes, replaced by bound copy - JMB

Series 8: Helen Crocker

Box 24

Folder 1: Notes on 3x5 Cards (18 sleeves A - H)

Folder 2: Notes

Folder 3: Correspondence

Folder 4: Bibliographical Notes, Unknown Source

Folder 5: Bibliographical Notes

Folder 6: Printed Materials & Various Addresses

Folder 7: Periodical Information

Folder 8: Interview Notes

Item 1: Interview Notes [N.D.]- Bob Barton
Item 2: Interview Notes 3-18-1975- H. L. Sevins
Item 3: Interview Notes 9-14-1976 - Julius Scott
Item 4: Interview Notes 3-17-1977 - Swink
Item 5: Interview Notes 8-14-1983-Ruth Burnell Perkins / Joan Stillwell (See Audio Tape Interview)

Box 25

Item 1: Audio Tape Interview 8-25-1980- L. A. Warren
Item 2: Audio Tape Interview 8-25-1980- Gerald McMurtry
Item 3: Audio Tape Interview 6-1-1981- James Hickey
Item 4: Audio Tape Interview 6-2-1981 - James Hickey
Item 5: Audio Tape Interview 6-2-1981- James Hickey
Item 6: Audio Tape Interview 6-5-1981- Ralph Newman
Item 7: Audio Tape Interview 6-5-1981- Ralph Newman
Item 8: Audio Tape Interview 6-29-1981 - H. Tapp
Item 9: Audio Tape Interview 6-30-1981- Mary Genevieve Murphy
Item 10: Audio Tape Interview 8-25-1981- Gerald McMurtry
Item 11: Audio Tape Interview 10-21-1981- Thomas D. Clark
Item 12: Audio Tape Interview 10-21-1981- Thomas D. Clark
Item 13: Audio Tape Interview 1-8-1982- Louise Maclead
Item 14: Audio Tape Interview 1-4-1983- Molly Bryant
Item 15: Audio Tape Interview 1-5-1983- Metzer Bryant
Item 16: Audio Tape Interview 1-5-1983- Mary Bryant
Item 17: Audio Tape Interview 1-6-1983- Louise Maclead
Item 18: Audio Tape Interview 1-6-1983- Louise Maclead
Item 19: Audio Tape Interview 8-3-1983- Edward Weeks
Item 20: Audio Tape Interview 8-3-1983- Edward Weeks
Item 21: Audio Tape Interview 8-14-1983- Ruth Burnell Perkins / Joan Stillwell: (See Interview Notes)
Item 22: Audio Tape Interview 5-17-1985- Penny McJunkin
Item 23: Audio Tape Interview 5-17-1985- Penny McJunkin
Item 24: Audio Tape Interview 5-17-1985- Penny McJunkin
Item 25: Audio Tape Interview 1-20-[1986] - Mary Boewe

Box 26

Item 1: Audio Tape Notes: Meadville - Ida Tarbell correspondence
Item 2: Audio Tape Notes: Meadville - Ida Tarbell correspondence, Beveridge & Angle
Item 3: Audio Tape Notes: Library of Congress - Beveridge collection
Item 4: Audio Tape Notes: Library of Congress - Beveridge collection
Item 5: Audio Tape Notes: Illinois State Historical Library - John F. Iglehart Papers
Item 6: Audio Tape Notes: University of Illinois - Barton, Sandburg
Item 7: Audio Tape Notes: Indiana University
Item 8: Audio Tape Notes: Indiana University / University of Illinois
Item 9: Audio Tape Notes: Illinois State Historical Library / Minor affair, Atlantic Monthly file
Item 10: Audio Tape Notes: Chicago Historical Society
Item 11: Audio Tape Notes: [no location] - Townsend Collection
Item 12: Audio Tape Notes: [no location] - Townsend Collection
Item 13: Audio Tape Notes: University of Chicago - W.E. Barton /Carl Sandburg - television show
Item 14: Audio Tape Notes: University of Chicago - Microfilm, W. E. Barton Papers
Item 15: Audio Tape Notes: University of Chicago - Microfilm, W. E. Barton Papers
Item 16: Audio Tape Notes: University of Illinois - Barrett, Tarbell, Rothschild
Item 17: Audio Tape Notes: Indiana University - Bobbs Merrill collection / Townsend correspondence
Item 18: Audio Tape Notes: Indiana University - Bobbs Merrill collection
Item 19: Audio Tape Notes: Indiana University - Bobbs Merrill collection
Item 20: Audio Tape Notes: [Unknown]